Why Civil Service Managers must acquire leadership skills – Ambode

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State on Tuesday emphasized the need for the state civil service managers to acquire leadership and managerial skills for maximum productivity.

He said possessing such skills would enable them compete favourably with their counterparts all over the world.

Ambode spoke at a two-day training programme for directors, with the theme “Managerial Skills & Personal Effectiveness”, held in Ikeja, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria.

He said that high performance had been known to increase in organisations that exposed their human capital to development through training programmes such as the one organised for the managers and directors in the employment of the Lagos State Government.

Ambode, who was represented by the Commissioner for Establishments, Training and Pensions, Dr Benson Oke, stated that the learning outcome of it would translate into more dynamism, effectiveness and efficiency for the Lagos State Public Service.

“Great leaders move us and inspire us to do our best work. That’s why it is important you have effective leaders in your workplace to empower and influence your people to achieve business and team goals.

“Hence, the importance of these all important training on the development of the hard and soft skills that are vital for organisational growth and personal effectiveness. The training offers a unique and valuable opportunity to aspire to the heights of self-awareness and self-development that are indispensable for the actualisation of corporate and individual goals,’’ he said.

Ambode appealed to the participants to actively participate in the discussions and contribute meaningfully to realizing the objective of the training.

The governor added that if the six expositions like increase in productivity, retaining of people, nurturing of future managers, increase of employee engagement, implementation of an effective managerial leadership style and making of better decisions could be actualised through the training, the better for the service and the entire management team as well as the state in general.

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mrs Rhoda Ayinde, congratulated the participants for being part of the programme, just as she added that the moment one could manage his or her time and skills effectively, one would surely be a better scholar.

She, however, expressed optimism that at the end of the training, participants would be further be equipped with advanced managerial leadership skills.